I always feel a well-made soup is a good indication of ability in a restaurant’s kitchen. I was recently reminded of this when I had lunch at Joel Robuchon’s L’Atelier in New York, where I enjoyed a wonderful horseradish velouté.
Traditionally, soups are classified in two broad groups – clear and thick. The established French classification of clear soups are bouillon and consommé, and thick soups are classified depending on the thickening agent used.
Purées are vegetable soups thickened with starch, bisques are made from puréed shellfish thickened with cream, cream soups are thickened with béchamel sauce and veloutés are thickened with eggs, butter and cream. The key to making a good soup is the quality of the stock.
We associate soup with warmth and comfort, and no commercially made soup can compare with the homemade version. Soups are also a great way of getting children to eat vegetables.
Chicken broth served with toasted parmesan bread
Ingredients
1 free range or organic chicken
3l of chicken stock
Mirepoix (1 carrot, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 celery stalks, 1 white onion, 1/2 leek – all washed and cut into 2cm pieces), 2 parsley stems, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, 5 crushed white peppercorns, all washed and placed into a muslin cloth and tied. This is used for flavouring. Sea salt and freshly milled pepper to taste
Garnish
1 carrot
1/2 leek
1/4 turnip
1 celery stick
3 dozen garden peas
Chicken meat cut into small pieces
Method
1 Place the chicken into a pot and add the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer. Skim the surface to remove any impurities, using a ladle or spoon. Continue to simmer very gently over a low heat for about two hours.
2 Add the mirepoix and the wrapped herbs, and cook slowly for a further hour. Skim the surface again to remove impurities.
3 Remove the chicken and strain, keep aside the stock.
4 For the garnish, wash and peel the vegetables and cut into small pieces about 2cm square. Add them to the stock and cook slowly over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the peas from the pods and add them to the stock, then cook for a further five minutes. Remove the breasts of chicken from the bones. Remove the skin and cut the chicken into long thin pieces. Add them to the broth, correct the seasoning and serve.
5 Sprinkle fresh grated parmesan cheese onto slices of sourdough bread and toast until crisp. Serve with broth.
Fish and lemongrass consommé garnished with fresh prawns
Ingredients
1kg of whiting and cod fillets
8 egg whites
1 leek, finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
3 shallots, finely diced
10 whole white peppercorns
5 flat leafed parsley stems
1 small bunch of thyme (washed and roughly chopped)
1 bay leaf
300ml of dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
1 capful of white wine vinegar
4l fish stock
Sea salt and freshly-milled white pepper to taste
10 lemon grass sticks
10g of fresh ginger
Garnish
30 small fresh prawns Bunch of fresh dill, chopped
Method
1 Slice the whiting and cod fillets very finely and purée in a blender. Remove and place into a large pot, and add the diced leek, celery, shallot, whole peppercorns, parsley, roughly chopped thyme and bay leaf. Mix well together.
2 In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites with a whisk for one minute. Add the lemon juice, white wine vinegar, white wine and fish stock. Mix with a whisk for a further minute. Pour the liquid onto the fish purée and vegetables, mixing well. Flatten the lemongrass with the side of a chopping knife (to release the flavour), cut into small pieces and add to the mixture. Peel and roughly cut the ginger and add to the mixture.
3 Bring the mixture to a slow simmer, stirring frequently until it starts to emulsify on top (form a raft). This will be recognised when the mixture starts to set. Simmer very slowly for about 45 minutes, or until the required taste is achieved. Baste the raft frequently. Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth into a separate pot and return to the heat. Bring to the boil and boil for one minute.
4 Cool slightly, taste and correct the seasoning.
Garnish method
1 Peel the prawns and remove the vein, cut them very thinly and place into the bowls.
2 Chop the dill and sprinkle a little into each bowl.
3 Pour in the consommé and serve. (The consommé will cook the prawns).
Cream of tomato soup garnished with tomato concaisse and flat leafed parsley
Ingredients
2 kg of vine-ripe tomatoes
50g diced bacon
10ml olive oil
1 carrot
5 shallots
2 cloves of wet garlic
1 red pepper
2l chicken stock
1 small bunch of flat leafed parsley
1 litre of cream
Sea salt/freshly-milled pepper
Garnish
5 vine tomatoes
100ml of cream
Fried flat leafed parsley
50ml of olive oil
Method
1 Cut the bacon into small pieces. Wash and peel the vegetables and garlic, and dice into small pieces. Heat a pot, and into it add the olive oil, bacon, chopped vegetables and garlic. Cook slowly without colouring for 15 minutes.
2 Skin the tomatoes by piercing the top with a sharp knife and placing in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and place into iced water. The skin can then be peeled off easily.
3 Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the vegetables. Cut the red pepper in half, remove the seeds and roughly chop. Add it to the pot.
4 Season with sea salt and freshly-milled pepper.
5 Chop the parsley and add it, then cook for a further ten minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 50 minutes.
6 Place the cream in a separate pot, bring to the boil and simmer, reducing the liquid by half. Remove from the heat and add to the soup.
7 Remove the soup from the heat and purée in a blender. Remove and pass through a fine sieve.
8 Taste and correct the seasoning.
Garnish method
1 Bring the cream to the boil and reduce by half, season lightly and cool.
2 Skin (as before) and de-seed the tomatoes, then cut into 1cm pieces.
3 Heat a pan and add the oil. Wet the flat leafed parsley in cold water, shake off the excess water and add the parsley to the pan. It should crisp immediately when it is added.
4 Remove the parsley and place it on kitchen paper, then season with sea salt.
5 Pour the tomato soup into the bowl. Place a spoonful of cream on top, then garnish with the con
caisse of tomato and flat leafed parsley.
Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com